5 Movies That Help Started the PG-13 Rating

It may be hard to believe, but some of our most beloved movies spawned the PG-13 rating and they all started in the '80s. In the United States of America, film classification or PG-13 means (Parents Strongly Cautioned) – Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

According to Comingsoon.net, they have put together the top 5 movies that help started the PG-13 rating, and some may surprise you!

1.) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

"The moment Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s Indiana Jones sequel depicted a man’s heart getting ripped from his chest, the Motion Picture Association of America knew it was time to create a new rating. The combination of this film and Joe Dante’s Gremlins proved to be deadly, and the PG-13 rating was created."

2.) Gremlins

"In combination with Spielberg and Lucas’s Indy sequel, Dante’s Gremlins set off alarms for its exploding microwaved Gremlins, among other things. The MPAA couldn’t take it anymore—the PG-13 rating would be slapped on at the next possible opportunity."

3.) Red Dawn

"As it turns out, that first opportunity came later in ’84. John Milius’s action film Red Dawn would become the epitome of the rating as we know it—more action, violence, and language than a PG movie, but nothing as graphic as an R-rated iteration of the same material."

4.) Poltergeist

"Before Temple of Doom and Gremlins had the MPAA sweating, films like Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist had them wondering if the PG rating as they knew it had an expiration date. There are some genuinely scary thrills and truly upsetting themes present in this film, but it took a couple more years for anyone to do anything about it."

5.) Beetlejuice

"Still, even with the implementation of the PG-13 rating, a few films still managed to slip through the cracks. One example is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, which came four years after Red Dawn but features some F-bombs and other adult content despite its PG rating."